We're not taping this week due to the PAC-10 Conference being on the network all-week so we've supplied you with some of our better shows & segments from the past few months. If you didn't see them the 1st time, you should do yourself a favor and check them out. Meanwhile, we're watching college hoops (Syracuse & Arizona with good wins today) and preparing for next week. Our producer, Charlie, checks in with his latest thoughts...
The madness is creeping in, and I'm not talking about the NCAA Tournament. I'm about to go crazy ... we haven't taped a new show in what seems like an eternity. Monday, March 13th can't come soon enough (our 1st day back).
When you're in charge of a multi-million dollar show like I am, you need to be challenged EVERY DAY with NEW guests, segments, etc.
Here is a list of the thrilling things I did today:
*Came to work, prepared for a meeting
*Went to a meeting
*Went to another meeting
*Had a meeting about a future meeting
*Fell asleep in a meeting
*Wrote this blog
One more thing ... Brooke Burns was on the FOX lot today. She came by to say "hi." She used to be a correspondent for us. Alas, I wasn't around when she visited, but I was told by more than one person that she was looking for me. I swear. Brooke Burns. Last week Lisa Dergan. This week Brooke Burns. Tomorrow, the world (and the Playboy Mansion).
Peace, and I'm out.
Thanks Charlie... He speaks for us all, at least as far as ready to get back to doing new shows. With the NCAA Tourney ready to crank up, baseball & the WBC just getting underway plus the NFL Free Agency & the NFL Draft just around the corner, we should have plenty to talk about both on the show and here in the blog. Personally, my favorite time of the year as a sports fan.
Anyways, be sure to check us out next week with a great guest list including Memphis Head Coach John Calipari, CBS college hoops analyst Billy Packer, Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, WWE Champ John Cena plus hollywood hotshots like Michael Chiklis from "The Shield" and Michael Rapaport from "The War at Home".. Don't miss it!!
For those of you who watched Best Damn on regular basis this past football season, you know the Texas- USC battle was a major topic for our show. Our QB Rodney Peete even had a bet with the Longhorns' Vince Young on the Rose Bowl game. In-Vince-ible led Texas to the comeback victory which left Rodney wearing VY's burnt orange #10 jersey when the Heisman runner-up visited the show. VInce was a great guest and we had a lot of fun with him. So needless to say, this soon to be 1st round draft pick is always on our radar. So the recent Wonderlic controversy inspired our producer, Charlie, to whip up his latest diatribe.....
Listen, I have NO problem whatsoever with Vince Young scoring a reported "6" on the Wonderlic test in his first attempt. I personally took the SAT three times, and my best score was on my 3rd and final attempt. You think colleges got any whiff of my 1st two scores? No way, Joe (Jose for those of you who just hit your "SAP" button). I have a problem with the Wonderlic itself.
The Wonderlic is the NFL's version of the SAT. It's a written test given to draft prospects which grades intelligence and speed of thought. Vince Young, however fast ON the field, seems to be a little slow OFF of it. But according to whom? Some stodgy, old guy who came up with this travesty, this sham, this mockery, this traveshamockery of a test? Here is a sample question:
Question #4: Paper sells for 21 cents a pad. How much are four pads?
Answer: 84 cents
I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this question. I bet Vince did, too. First of all, name ONE place in America that you could buy a pad of paper for 21 cents. Second, what state are these cheap pads being sold in? If it's Delaware, no sales tax. If it's California, tack on 7.25% buddy. That would make the pads cost 23 cents each, which would make the answer 92 cents.
Finally, I can see Vince now, gripping his pencil, sweat dripping down his face, saying to himself, "What the F does this have to do with me throwing passes in the NFL? Last time I checked, Question #4 doesn't bench press 400 pounds, run a 4.6 forty and want to knock me out of the game."
We're not asking Vince to be a molecular scientist. We're asking him to score touchdowns. He'll be fine. He once milked a cow on our show. Here's a clip.
Peace, and I'm out.
Thanks Charlie.. Be sure to check out the Best Damn Fight Night Period tonight with the very entertaining Sam Soliman highlighting the card. Soliman just had a great fight with Winky Wright in December where he threw over 1,200 punches in a 12-round fight. The guy has a motor that just won't stop. Have a great weekend and we'll see you next week.
Its finally here, the 1,000th show. With all the ups & downs and re-incarnations that the show has gone through, we're happy to have made it. To put the 1,000 in proper perspective, we turn the blog over to our producer Charlie, one of the few staff members to be here since the beginning.
1000 shows. My goodness. I've been here for ALL OF 'EM. I started here on July 11, 2001. We taped our first show July 23, 2001. Feels like yesterday. All my troubles seemed so far away.
What a scene we had for tonight's show. Pam Anderson. Stacy Keibler. Jerry Rice. Jerry Springer (he once wrote a check to a hooker when he was mayor of Cincinnati, but that's a whole different topic). Bruce Jenner. The Laker Girls. The Famous Chicken Mascot. Dennis Rodman. Michael Irvin. President Bush. The only thing we were missing were midgets and strippers. I'm being serious.
Everyone was dressed to the 9's, especially me. I wore my snappy Ralph Lauren tux. How did I know I looked good? Let's just say that the lovely Lisa Dergan saw me, grabbed me and exclaimed, "You clean up (pause ... hold on ... hold on ... hold on ...) REAL good!"
Thank you. I can die now. Let's get back on topic.
It's quite an amazing accomplishment when you actually sit back and think about it. Here is a simple, handcrafted graphic to make my point:
SHOW # of Episodes
BDSSP 1,000
ALF 102
Emily's Reasons Why Not 1
Poor Heather Graham. Shhh, don't speak. Just sit there. Look good. That a girl.
As we begin our journey towards the next 1000 shows, we'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who supported us the entire way. Tip of the cap to you, people.
And for those of you living in or soon visiting Los Angeles...
On a personal note, I just bought the Souplantation on La Cienega and 3rd (in the mall complex). Please start eating there. Thanks.
Peace, and I'm out.
Thanks Charlie... The 1,000th show apparently has inspired our fearless producer. He's got a blog entry ready to go for tomorrow. I'll just give you 1 hint... It's Wonderlickin' Good!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006, 08:06 PM EST
[General]
Tuesday February 28
Coming off a huge Monday here at Best Damn as we taped both show No. 998 & No. 1000. A little inside secret from the TV world, not every show is taped on the day it airs. In order to accommodate some of our guests schedules, we pushed up our taping schedule for the 1,000th show. With out giving way the surprises, let's just say it was truly a memorable experience that's not to be missed. Be sure to check out the top 20 moments in Best Damn history on Wednesday's 1,000th show.
Some thoughts from Monday's & Tuesday's shows....
- The 1,000th show countdown really brought out some blasts from the past. The energy that Michael Irvin brought to the set was amazing. The Playmaker hasn't lost a step. Speaking of not losing a step, Leeann was in fine form. You won't want to miss her pull-out Budweiser ad in this year's SI Swimsuit Issue. Think of the dream sequence in "American Beauty" only hotter. Best idea Bud has had since Spuds MacKenzie, who ranks No. 2 in the Beer Dog Power Rankings behind Alex from Stroh's (immortalized in Tone Loc's ballad "Funky Cold Medina").
- John Salley had a great comment on Monday's show while talking about Mike Tyson. We looked back on Mike Tyson's appearance on the show and Sal was amazed how we get the athletes & celebrities to do some of the outrageous things they do on this show. Whether it's Billy Bob Thornton starring in "Friday Night Tights", Shaquille O'Neal showing of his thespian skills with Tom Arnold, or Lance Armstrong riding in a tricycle race, it's truly amazing how these stars are willing to put their egos on hold and have fun on our set or in our comedy skits.
And finally, we've got another look back on the past from one our Best Damn staff. Just reading this has me amazed that we are able to put on a show every day.
- Last December, we were looking for "sexy" Santa Helpers to be part of some shows leading into Christmas. The idea was to have six models in "sexy" low cut Santa suits giving out gifts to the studio audience.
We held a casting call in our green room. Over 100 beautiful models showed up to the Fox Lot that day. The Fox Infirmary reported a record number of neck strains among Fox male employees on that day. The casting was very hush-hush and supposed to be a closed-door session with myself and two other producers. But word leaked out and before I knew it every producer, associate producer and production assistant showed up in the green room acting like they just needed to get something out of the green room... using lines like: "Hey, I lost my pen, did anyone see my pen in here?", "Do you need any help in here?", "Can I hold a light or something?"
I even think the valet guys showed up at one point saying that misplaced some keys. It was very funny to see almost every male staff member pop his head into the green room at least once during that day.
Remember, we've got the Top 20 moments in Best Damn history on Wednesday's show with moments from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ashton Kutcher, Serena Williams, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Stacy Keibler, Pam Anderson, Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Not to be missed!
We hope you've enjoyed our look back by our staff at some great behind-the-scenes moments in Best Damn History. Be sure to check out our countdown of the Top 100 moments in Best Damn History starting Monday and winding up Wednesday with our 1,000th show. We begin our final batch of memories from the first five years with an appearance by the Terminator before he was the Governator...
- For our 2nd Annual Best Dammies (our year-end awards show) back in the summer of 2004, we had Arnold Schwarzenegger on to promote "T3" and also win his second "Best Dammie" Award. So if he never wins an Oscar in his life, he will always have pride in a couple "Best Damn" statuettes on his mantle. But anyway...
For the Best Dammies, we created a "makeshift" red carpet behind our stage, outside. We needed the appearance of a bunch of photographers taking pictures of the stars walking in. So *we* were the paparazzi, the Best Damn Employees. The props department supplied us with 20 disposable cameras, that were to be used just to get the "flash" effect.
In walked Arnold, and the 15 of us outside roared with applause and flashed our cameras like award-winning photographers -- all which was worthy of any Joan Rivers-caliber Red Carpet Ceremony. Midway through his stroll down our star-studded carpet, he had a line I'll never forget... in his Austrian accent he belted out, "This is fantastic... all the enthusiasm ... I love this show..."
Ah-nold plays to the Best Damn Paparazzi ... HOW FANTASTIC!
So after the Best Dammies show was over, everyone else threw away their $2 Rite Aid Disposable Cameras. But I threw mine in my office drawer, where it sat. I developed it a year later, and to my surprise the pictures were not bad...
The first picture gives you an interesting, yet creepy look at his dental work. The second gives everyone a little preview of his upcoming political career. And the third is classic Arnold.
- While shooting a story in New Orleans with former Saint Kyle Turley just days after Hurricane Katrina... Being at the Superdome at the exact time of kickoff for the opening weekend in the NFL.... And seeing Kyle Turley look at what use to be his home stadium and all the memories he had in that place for him to stand there and be speechless yet full of emotion at the same time...Blew me away.
- I was on assignment in Las Vegas talent producing "24 Hours of Torii Time"... Torii Hunter gave us an inside, "all-access" look at what his MLB friends do for fun during the off-season. The boys came to town to golf Friday, have dinner at N9NE steakhouse, and partied at a couple of clubs.
On Saturday the boys played in an all-day poker Tournament at the Palms. Torii, who was a self-proclaimed poker player, was knocked out in the FIRST hand (how could he do this to our feature - he's the BDSSP HOST of the weekend!?!). While the other guys continued to play throughout the course of the morning and into the late afternoon, T-Hunt's GREAT friend and former teammate, David "Big Papi" Ortiz, also got knocked out fairly early in the tournament. We had to find fun things to do with T-Hunt around the hotel to fill some time until the tournament ended... hummm, what would make for interesting television???
Papi and Torii go way back to their Twinkie days.
We came up with the idea to play/stage a "ring-and-run" on Big Papi... we were going to tape it as if Torii was waking up Big Papi at 7 a.m. (after a lonnnnnnnng night out at the club and on the tables gambling). As Big Papi was in his suite preparing for this skit (i.e. changing into a bathrobe, grabbing Torii's electrical toothbrush and coffee mug and attempting to appear as if he just woke up), a TRUE DIE-HARD Red Sox fan coincidentally got off of the elevator and was staying on our floor!!!! HOLY MOLY... if only this guy knew what we were staging... he would DIE! No one said anything, but I watched what room this older white gentleman, in his mid-fifties all decked out in Red Sox gear from HEAD-TO-TOE, went into...
The stage was set... cameras rolling... Torii rang the doorbell to the suite and hid away from the door as he said, "Housekeeeeeping!" Big Papi opened the door, looked right and then left... he saw T-Hunt running down the hall and it was as if Big Papi was rounding the bases to home plate... He catches Torii, tackles him to the ground (in a white terry cloth robe and NOTHING ELSE, mind you) and starts pounding him (all playful, of course). CUT... scene is over! But WAIT... I proceed to tell Big Papi about the fan on our floor. He says in his Dominican accent, "What room is he in???"
On his own, still in his robe with toothbrush and coffee mug in hand, he knocks on the man's door. Door opens and Big Papi says, "Yo, Bro... do you have any toothpaste?" The man looks at him like he's lost his mind and says, "No, sorry. I just checked in and my bags are still downstairs." Big Papi says again, in a louder and demanding voice, "BRO, do you have any toothpaste????" The man is now slightly irritated and says, "I told you that I don't have my bags yet!!!" This man obviously isn't recognizing Big Papi as he's dressed (or rather, not dressed)... so Big Papi has to find another way to jar this man's awareness...
He says to the man, "Hey, why do you have that t-shirt on?" (as the t-shirt is red with Red Sox written in large letters across his chest). Three seconds pass with silence and THEN... as the man has his cell phone in hand (as he had been on the phone when he first answered the door), "Holy s#$&, I have BIG PAPI in my room!!!!" With that, he hangs up on whoever was on the other line without saying good-bye... and Big Papi says, "BRO, you just hung up on your friend!" The man says, "Who cares about my friend, I have BIG PAPI at my door!!!"
And with that, Big Papi never got his toothpaste, but the man got the best surprise of his life! The moral of this story is... always carry toothpaste with you!
And finally, some hijinks from a Heisman Trophy winner...
- Marcus Allen stole my chapstick.
A few years ago, Marcus was a guest on our show. It was unseasonably cold in Los Angeles, so he showed up wearing a black windbreaker, which he left in the green room during his appearance. Well, the show ends, Marcus grabs his jacket and leaves. Only he doesn't grab HIS jacket, he grabs MINE. Now, I'm not accusing Marcus Allen of stealing my jacket, because that would be ridiculous. He's a Heisman Trophy winner and a Hall of Famer and I'm... well, not. And, while the prospect of walking around in Marcus Allen's jacket was tempting, I still wanted my coat back.
So, the talent bookers called Marcus, explained the situation and asked if he could return the jacket. So, being the nice Heisman Trophy winner he is, Marcus turned his car around, drove back to FOX and the swap was made, his jacket for mine. But here's the kicker. I keep only one thing in my jacket pocket at all times - a tube of chapstick. Not loose change, not breath mints, but chapstick. Cherry-flavored chapstick. But, when I reached into my pocket after the jacket swap was made, the chapstick was gone. I searched every pocket, but to no avail. Even checked the floor of the green room, in case it had fallen out. Still, nothing.
And that's when it hit me. Marcus Allen may not have stolen my jacket, but he did steal my chapstick. I guess he likes Cherry.
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Listen, I have NO problem whatsoever with Vince Young scoring a reported "6" on the